23 comments on “Do Bar Associations Really Benefit Solos?”

• The ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs maintains links to the lawyer assistance programs in each state, as well as other resources for lawyers, judges and law students who need help with alcoholism, substance abuse or mental health issues or knows someone who does need help. The link to CoLAP is at http://www.americanbar.org/groups/lawyer_assistance.html

  • Thanks, Will for providing that useful link!

• Our bar association, http://www.osbar.org, has an incredibly active Sole and Small Firm Practitioners section that benefits members in numerous ways: informative blog posts, listserv discussions, product discounts, member directory, CLEs, great Web content, and more. In addition, the Professional Liability Fund which is operated by the Oregon State Bar, provides FREE and confidential practice management assistance throughout state, including in-person, telephone and email consultations, free books, over 300 free forms and checklists, a free newsletter, free or low cost CLE, etc. Nearly all our resources and consultations are directed toward solo practitioners or small firms.

• I think much of what is the value of a bar association rests with exactly what you are pointing out – the publications, services and opportunities afforded as a part of membership. That is the constant refrain I repeat whenever I hear the subject discussed in the meetings I attend as a member of the governing council of the ABA Health Law section (as the Young Lawyer – there is a joke in there somewhere for those who know me) and on the membership committee of the section. The opportunities I have been afforded because of my involvement with the ABA have not yet “paid off” in terms of financial gain – that will come with time – but I have developed a broad network of friends and contacts that allow me to access information and assistance from these folks. I believe that the work I have put into making this small section of the ABA a better value is making me a better lawyer and more valuable to my clients in the long run, even if they don’t know it now.

  The caveat, of course, is that this may work in a fairly narrow substantive are of the law, like health care law. But there are opportunities on a much smaller scale in the local and state bar associations. I recently attended the annual meeting of one of the local bar associations of which I am a member and met a women who graduated from law school after me, yet she was just named/elected to the Board of Directors of this small local bar association. Why? Because she raised her hand and did the work (and is starting a solo/small firm section in the local bar – the second section after estate planning).

  In the alternative, however, I don’t find the Texas Bar Circle all that useful. Just sayin’.

  Marc

• I think the most telling quote is yours: “When I delve into the subject with them, however, they often come away surprised at the extent of resources available that they were unaware of.”

  Of interest is that many Solos aren’t aware of the resources that you point to. It is hard to dispute that unknown resources are virtually worthless and, if the solos don’t know that they are there, well… they might as well not exist.

  If the bar associations have failed in that sense, that the solos aren’t aware of the resources, the bar associations have failed the solo community. But maybe it’s not an issue of what has happened, but why. Why have the Bar associations failed in getting out the word? In short, I believe the key is “focus.”

  My thesis: Bar associations have failed solo (and very small firm) practitioners in that their focus is mainly on things of concern to the large firms and to the bar writ large – hence the failure to “get the word out” about those available resources.

  I guess that is a topic for another day (at least I hope it is).

  I also might argue that many of those resources (except for casemaker) are fairly slim in real value to the practitioner. If the value was real, direct, and necessary, solos would certainly spread the word themselves.

  Quite frankly, the Texas bar association (and other ass’ns) should make more free CLE-credited programs available (at least really relevant practice related programs – say a Crim Law 101, or a Texas Practice 101, etc.) and offer a better mentoring system for young, and older, solos. That would be real, tangible, practical and incredibly useful information.

  Why does the TX Bar Ass’n not offer that kind of information; the useful CLE programs, etc.,? I am not certain. But I do believe that my mandatory dues ought to be sufficient to support at least a little.

  • I give the TX Bar credit for allowing us law students to watch CLE online for free, which apparently continues until I am licensed. I did want to attend a day-long conference coming up for marriage dissolution and all the Bar gives is a $25 early buyer discount. That makes the conference like $500. The new attorneys who are starting their own firms are the ones that most need these boot camp CLEs and they can’t afford access. Stinks. But the Bar will respond to demand and woefully few young attorneys are standing up and yelling from the rooftops that they need more help. It’s up to us to push the Bar to spend money. They won’t do it on their own.

    • And you are correct… “until you are licensed.” I urge you to take a moment and calculate the fees (bar registration and CLE requirements) and consider the cost of maintaining your license which can be quite a drain on a young solo.

• We have many free services for DC Bar members going solo or small firm. We offer a two-day course with a 400+ page manual every month described at: http://www.dcbar.org/for_lawyers/bar_services/practice_management_advisory_service/basic_training.cfm
  We have free ethics advice, fee arbitration, and counselors for our solo and small firm lawyers. Solo and small firm lawyers are supported here.

  • Daniel, is it ‘free’ after you become a member or is it ‘free’ to anyone who is barred in your jurisdiction?

    • The D.C. Bar is the second largest mandatory bar in the USA. The services are free to our membership who pay annual dues of $237.00.

• Daniel and Beverly-
  Thanks for sharing information about what your bar association offers. I hope that solos in your jurisdiction will see this.

  Mickey-
  I agree that many bar associations fail to effectively communicate the benefits available to solos or any other members. I actually mentioned that in the first draft of this post, but decided to save that discussion for another day. The State Bar of Texas used to send someone to the office of small firms to reveiw their practice management processes and provide advice, upon request and at a VERY reasonable fee. I know lawyers who found that extremely helpful and valuable. And yet, it was one of those virtually unknown services. Unfortunately, they have discontinued that benefit.
  Kudos to the Oregon and DC bars for focusing similar hands-on resources to help solos be successful lawyers.

  Marc, I agree that many groups in Texas Bar Circle are not very active, interesting or useful. In the Solo/Small Firm section, however, I see some pretty interesting discussions. I also see lawyers pretty regularly asking for a name of someone they can refer a matter to in another geographic location or with certain expertise. I suspect that many of those participants are not active in other social media, so it provides a more significant benefit to them.

  I predict that your bar activity will pay off in the way of bringing business your way in the future. Hopefully you won’t be like the guy I wrote about here http://www.lawyer-coach.com/index.php/2007/06/01/marketing-what-are-you-already-doing-right/ who was getting referrals, but did not realize that he was getting them because of his bar work.

  Perhaps in another post we can put together our wish list for how bar associations can do more or get the word out better?

• I’ve aggregated and published bar membership information here – http://myshingle.com/resources/bars-reviewed/

  As for the DC Bar, membership is mandatory – and Dan Mills’ program is legendary. It has helped many, many solos get their start in DC – and Dan has spearheaded teh program single-handedly.

• Thanks so much! I just moved to DC and the bar info is extremely confusing!

  • Kat: Glad to help. Call me at 202.626.1312 or email at dmills@dcbar.org

• Thanks for providing this interesting look at what bar associations can offer solo lawyers. I am not currently practicing solo, but I find the idea of starting my own practice increasingly appealing.

  The problem I have always had with the bar associations is the cost, not just of membership but of involvement. I have never been privileged enough to work at a firm or company with a big enough budget to pay for my dues as well as CLE programs, so I have always had to shoulder the burden of paying these costs. While I have generally maintained my membership in the ABA and state bar association, I don’t feel like I’ve been able to truly get involved to the extent necessary to really “get” anything out of the experience because I can’t afford to attend annual meetings or the big week-long conferences. This, I think, is where the bar associations fail young, solo and small firm/company lawyers.

  I also find that many of the CLE programs offered (other than the basic “bridge the gap”) expect a certain degree of sophistication in attendees. I’d love to see more basic and practical programs targeted to those of us who haven’t had the benefit of several years of law firm training or mentorship from senior attorneys.

• Thank you for a very helpful article. There are a number of state bars that offer free or low-cost practice management advisory (PMA) services to members, as does the American Immigration Lawyers Association–the first national specialty bar to offer these services to members. We help members with starting a practice, marketing, technology, management, and financial issues. In addition, the AILA program helps members with legal ethics questions and other aspects of professionalism. A current listing of PMA programs is here: http://bit.ly/gGpIhs.

• Carolyn, thanks for posting the link to your chart on the offerings from different bar associations. That’s a valuable resource for readers. I am wondering what the “LPM” designation is. It says “no” for Texas in that column. Texas does have a Law Practice Management Program. Here is the link: http://www.texasbarcle.com/cle/LMHome.asp.

  • Thanks – I have to do another update. One problem that I did encounter in gathering this information (back in 2009 last time) is that many of the bar sites had terrible navigation and it was difficult to find information, even when I was aware that it existed. I also outsourced collection of some of this data and was not sufficiently vigilant in my oversight – though many LPM advisors weighed in with tips and I updated the chart. I’ve got to update it again and make it more legible.

    • Carolyn, you really hit on one of my frustrations with bar associations….often they have useful content and valuable resources, but you can’t find them. That’s a big reason why lawyers think the bar doesn’t do much for them. The “just in time” access sucks. Sometimes I use something on a bar website, but then can’t find them again. I know it is there, but can’t find it! Grrr!

• I agree that CLE and other programs offered by bar associations often cost too much for solos and new lawyers. Discounting the cost of membership is not enough, if the benefits offered are still too expensive to take advantage of.

  Perhaps you can point out these comments to your bar association. If they will follow the example of the bar associations that provide low-cost services to solos and new lawyers, perhaps that would allow them to cut their budgets for disciplinary actions.

• Like so many other things in life, bar associations are what you make of them. In my experience, local bars and practice-area sections offer the most value in terms of networking, low-cost CLE, and leadership opportunities.

  It’s often true that solos are underrepresented. If you don’t like the way a bar association is run or what it offers, get involved and change it from within.

  • Todd, good point about under-representation of solos in bar associations. I think it is sort of a self-selection process. Many solos feel overwhelmed by the business and administrative aspects of practicing law. They don’t think they have time to get involved. What they may be missing, however, is the opportunity for “crowd-sourcing” of techniques and information that would help them be more efficient and effective.

• A reader of ours, Ed Walters, pointed out an update to our state bar counts in this article: “Because the State Bars of Oregon, West Virginia, and Georgia have all switched from Casemaker to Fastcase in the last 18 months, Casemaker now has 26 state bar associations, and Fastcase has 20 state bars, as well as dozens of voluntary bar associations.”

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